


Self-Rescuing Damsel

by CatrinaSL



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Darcy Lewis, Damsels in Distress, Darcy Lewis vs. Mornings, Darcy Lewis's Taser, F/M, Oblivious Steve Rogers, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Self-rescuing damsel, Steve Rogers vs. Parachutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Steve's not the only one to underestimate his girlfriend.





	Self-Rescuing Damsel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Birooksun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birooksun/gifts).



> This fic is for Birooksun, who won a fic in the follower giveaway I did to celebrate being slightly popular in my corner of [tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)! Thanks for following and reblogging, Birooksun!

"Are we close enough yet?"

"We'll get there when we _get_ there!" Clint shouted from the cockpit, sounding like a beleaguered father taking his rowdy kids on a road trip.

"Just let me know when I can jump," Steve said, causing Clint to let out a disgusted sigh and Tony and Natasha to shout at Steve to sit down.

"Is he even wearing a parachute?" Tony asked.

"Of course he isn't," Natasha replied, with a roll of her eyes. "Steve, come on. Trust your team. You're not going to help anything by going off half-cocked."

Steve glared at her. She smirked back. He sat.

"So what's the plan, here?" Tony asked Natasha. "Cap and I do the big shiny distraction thing while you and Barton do the sneaky-sneaky?"

"No," Steve answered before she could. " _I_ want to be on the stealth team."

"A second ago you were ready to jump out of here," Tony scoffed.

"Make up your mind!" Clint groused.

"Rogers," Natasha began, switching to the seat next to him. She lowered her voice. "This is supposed to be a hostage rescue. Where is your focus?"

Steve shook his head, obviously hoping that if he stayed silent, she would go away. When she didn't, he sighed and checked to see if Tony was eavesdropping before he admitted, "I might be... emotionally compromised."

Natasha waited for him to continue.

"I'm... the hostage and I..."

"You're dating," Natasha interrupted. "I know. Everyone knows, Steve."

Steve's mouth fell open. "What—?"

"You've been doing the newlywed 'floating on air' thing for weeks, Cap," Tony put in. Apparently he could eavesdrop without looking like it. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't anyone tell me...?" he grumbled.

"Because you cute when you think you've got a secret," Clint called.

"So you're invested in the rescue," Natasha said. "We all are. What's making you so irritated that you think you have to rush in there on your own?"

"We sort of had a fight," Steve told her, not bothering to keep his voice down, since every detail his personal life seemed to be out in the open anyway.

"Oh... she's still mad about you waking her up early to train? You know Darcy and mornings are bitter enemies." Natasha shook her head sadly.

"How do you—?" Steve began, then shook his head. "Why don't _you_ tell _me_ why I'm upset? You seem to know everything already."

Natasha laughed and opened her mouth to do just that, but Clint interrupted: "Compound in sight."

Tony stood to look out the window, his suit whirring as he moved. "Not a very big place," he reported. "Doesn't look too tough."

"I'm going to put her down on the other side of the hill and we can work out a plan to infiltrate," Clint said, flipping switches.

The quinjet slowed and began to descend when suddenly there was a bright flash of red light from one corner of the compound.

"Tony—" Clint began.

"It's Darcy," Tony said. "Open the hatch."

"On it." Clint hit a button and the back hatch opened, allowing Tony to zoom out.

"Wait, when _he_ wants to jump out of the quinjet, it's okay, but when _I_ do—"

"You can't _fly_ , Cap," Tony's voice came back to them through the quinjet's communicator.

"Just like you can't talk your girlfriend into getting up early to hit the gym with you just because you think you need to teach her how to punch," Natasha added, hanging on as the quinjet touched down.

"Well, doesn't it seem like I should teach her to punch?" Steve asked, annoyed. "Look what happened. She went out late at night and got grabbed. Who knows _what_ she went through in the time it's taken us to get here."

"What are you talking about?" Clint said.

"My girlfriend got kidnapped!" Steve shouted.

Natasha laughed. "Did you _read_ the brief on this 'hostage rescue' mission?"

"I'll bet you ten bucks he got as far as 'At 0400 hours, lab assistant Darcy Lewis was abducted off the street two blocks from Avengers Tower' and stopped reading to suit up," Tony put in through the comm. "Found her."

"Is she okay?!" Steve demanded, jumping up. He tried not to notice Clint and Natasha in the background, shaking their heads at his antics.

"Fine," Tony replied. "Your boyfriend's got his panties in a twist." Then he laughed, presumably at something Darcy said.

"Steve," Natasha sighed, before he could start yelling at Tony. "How do you think we knew where she was?"

Steve frowned. "I—"

"Tony gave her a new taser with a tracking device," Clint said. "Not to mention the flare thing."

"But—"

"And Clint's doing his best to improve her aim with it," Natasha reported. "What do you think all those games of darts in the common room are for?"

"She's not losing for _fun_ ," Clint snorted.

The sound of Tony's repulsors came from the open hatch of the quinjet. "Also, Natasha's been training her since she and Jane moved to the Tower last year."

"At night," Darcy added, as she stalked inside. "You know, when people are _awake_?"

Steve looked at her like he wasn't sure he should say anything at the risk of being chastised further, but the tension in his shoulders eased visibly.

Darcy rolled her eyes and handed Natasha a flash drive. "Here's everything I could get off the servers before they locked me out."

"How many?" Natasha asked.

"Three," Darcy replied. "Two knocked out and tied up in the cell, one tased after I got out. I left him zip tied to the bars."

Natasha frowned. "Think they were short staffed?"

Darcy shrugged. "You guys should look the place over just in case. I'm sure I set off a million alarms, but you can check it out anyway."

"Why don't I establish a perimeter?" Tony suggested. "The Stealth Twins can get in there and hunt down any lingering bad guys, and _you two_ can radio in for backup."

Natasha grinned. "Let's do this." Tony took off again, and Clint rolled his eyes at Steve's sheepish demeanor as he grabbed his bow to follow Natasha out of the quinjet.

Steve sat, feeling very unnecessary, as Darcy got in contact with the Avengers base and gave her report. She passed the information about incoming backup on to the Avengers in the field, then sighed and made her way over to Steve.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she asked.

He screwed up his face. "I feel like that's a trick question."

Darcy smiled. "Okay, fine. Why don't you just elaborate a little, then?"

"I didn't mean to... underestimate you. I only... I only wanted to make sure you're safe. I didn't realize that—I mean, I probably should have, but—"

Darcy kissed him, and more of Steve's worry and nervousness melted away as he kissed her back.

"Maybe we can spar sometime," she told him with a smile. "Just... not before 7 AM."

**Author's Note:**

> Got comment anxiety? Tell me I'm pretty. Or emojis work. I like emojis.
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/166792765513/self-rescuing-damsel)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


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